As GSA officially nixes Notes and logs on to Gmail this week, it seems Uncle Sam is getting googley eyes. At the same time, NOAA is forecasting cost savings ahead by moving to Google Apps by year end. And the G-man's Google romance comes in the wake of a string of state and local love-ins. From North to South Carolina, and from New York to California - states, cities, and counties are falling head over heels for the search giant's cloud-based cost savings.

As donkeys and elephants trade body shots over the debt ceiling and budget axe, what’s happening in the agencies? Here’s the real gridlock. No pay raises. No bonuses. No promotions. What to do? Yep, polish that resume and get out of government. And, as Uncle Sam gets a lobotomy, the brain drain will damage government for years to come.

Ironic, this happening with a Prez focused on promoting civil service and insourcing. Wasn’t it hard enough for Feds to get the IT talent before? Well it’s almost impossible now.

So, what can managers do to motivate their folks? Show them you care and invest in them? How with no money? Send your staff to the MeriTalk Innovation Nation Forum on August 23 at the D.C. Convention Center. It’s free for government - and 1,000+ are registered for innovation sessions.

What’ll they learn?

Big Picture: Dr. Alan Greenspan on IT/finance alignment - and how we can dig ourselves out of this slump

Big Four: What’s shakin’ in the four most important areas in IT - cloud, data center consolidation, security, and open source. Hear from the best IT minds in government

Big Bucks: The best idea to fix Uncle Sam with IT wins $50,000 - encourage your staff to enter the Merit Awards

The early betting is in from last week’s blog survey - and, as the horses round the first corner in the Federal CIO Derby, it’s Baker and McClure neck and neck - 23 percent of you have them down as odds-on favorites. Next, just ahead of the pack, it’s Spires with 19 percent of wagers. Then, it’s a furlong or two until we see Cisco's Warrior at 13 percent and “Other” - the riderless mount - with 10 percent over Google’s Schmidt with 8 percent. A surprise, bringing up the rear, Schlosser. Just 4 percent of punters plunked their money down on Lisa - surely the only official rider in the race warrants shorter odds?

But, Yankee Doodle Dandy’s preferred IT jockey isn’t the only race on the cards in D.C.’s sweltering summer heat - nor is it the richest purse. All eyes are on Vivek’s three favorite ponies - Cloud First, data center consolidation (DCC), and CyberScope. Are they headed for the glue factory now that the rider is unseated? Consistent with the 25-Point Plan hearing study, people are betting that Cloud First will pull up lame. Just 16 percent think agencies will meet the mandate. The crowd is more upbeat on CyberScope and DCC - 25 and 27 percent believe that these will make the finish line. That said, based on my math they’re both four-to-one outsiders...

But, any track regular knows you have to study the form to beat the odds. Cross tabbing CIO picks against take on potential for big-program success is interesting:

Schlosser: Longest odds as a rider, but people who fancy Lisa's chances are most upbeat about Cloud First and DCC success - 50 and 100 percent, respectively

Baker: 46 percent of those who put their money on Roger think that DCC will come home, but only 9 percent think Cloud First is a winner

Spires: Ironically, only 11 percent of those that fancy Spires believe DCC will make it to the line. And, the cloud “Steeplechase” is a non starter - not one person that bet on Richard gave Cloud First a chance of making it out of the gate

McClure: As one might suspect, McClure fans are relatively upbeat about Cloud First - 27 percent placed money on this mudder. Although Dr. Dave's stable don’t much fancy data center consolidation - just 9 percent think it will show

And, if you're feeling that Uncle Sam's chances of achieving any real breakthrough in security are a long shot - you're not alone. One in four think CyberScope will streamline FISMA and save money. And, punters see security as a horse of another color - those that like Schlosser or Schmidt as CIO are most upbeat about security success.

Last, but not least, looking back over their shoulder at a race that is almost run, the IT grandstand gave Cloud Kundra’s performance mixed reviews - 19 percent As, 37 percent Bs, 25 percent Cs, 15 percent Ds, and 4 percent Fs. Baker backers are the most complementary of Kundra. Truth told, only history will earn the right to grade his performance.

Think you’ve got the inside track on the future of Fed IT? Go ahead - take the quiz and see how your views line up.

It’s Baker or Spires or McClure? - Holy Cow! That’s the refrain from the bleachers around the Beltway as pundits speculate on who’ll take the bat for IT’s Mickey Mantle - the Nationals' very own King Kundra. Will Lisa Schlosser do more than warm the pine? Will Aneesh slide in from the White House to pinch hit? Will Eric Schmidt or Padmasree Warrior, Cisco CTO, come in from left field - or left coast as the case may be?

And, perhaps more interesting than the who - there’s the what? Will cloud strike out? Will data center consolidation get lost between the bases? Will the dashboard go to the dugout?